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The Homer State Tactile Museum

NCBI CEO Chris White with family friends (and stand in interpreters Teresa and Marialuce) with the Museum Director Aldo Grassini and his interpreter, and Unione Italiana Cieche March Regional President Alina and her interpreter.

Last August, while on holidays with his family in Italy, Chris White, CEO of NCBI, was invited to visit the Homer State Tactile Museum.

The museum is a unique barrier-free museum, whose aim it is to disseminate its experience and philosophy by promoting a multi-sensory enjoyment of art. The museum itself, is housed in the Eighteenth-century rooms of the Mole Vanvitelliana, Ancona, and is seen as a three dimensional encyclopaedia of art history.

Chris was given a tour of the Museum by Aldo Grassini, the Museum President and accompanied by Alina Pulcini, the Unione Italiana Ciechi Marche Regional President.

Famous sculptures from Classical Greece

The current temporary exhibition features approximately 150 works from the permanent collection displayed in chronological order. It features true copies in plaster and resin, of famous sculptures, from Classical Greece to the early twentieth century, passing through Etruscan, Roman, Romanesque and Gothic to the Renaissance of Michelangelo, Bernini’s Baroque and the Neo-classicism of Canova.

Information materials in Braille

“This museum is unique. It’s the only one in Italy that allows you to touch artwork and is fully interactive. There are sculptures from Roman, Egyptian and Greek civilisations, all of which are tactile. There is also a section dedicated to architecture, where you can see and touch models of monuments such as the Parthenon, The Temple of Venus Euplea, St. Ciriaco Cathedral and Rome’s Pantheon. There are also information materials in Braille, along with video clips and audio files. It’s well worth a visit and I’d like to extend my thanks to everyone for the warm welcome and tour.”